


Brothers Still

by Yizuki_Khonsu



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Babyblaster AU, Gen, babyblaster, separation au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-15
Updated: 2016-01-15
Packaged: 2018-05-14 03:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5728543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yizuki_Khonsu/pseuds/Yizuki_Khonsu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Escaping from the Hotland Laboratories, Sans and Papyrus struggle to keep their new won freedom. Staying ahead is hard though, and it doesn't take long before tragedy strikes and they become separated. Gift fic for Keetah Spacecat</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brothers Still

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KeetahSpacecat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeetahSpacecat/gifts).



A gift fic for Keetah! ^.^ My own take on the separation au.

 

Chapter 1: Stay where I tell you

 

It was dark in the Underground. The crystals light had dimmed to a dull glow, leaving only the light of the magma below to bathe the caverns with it’s blood red light. In this eerie stillness, the shrill scream of an alarm shattered the peace. Monsters shouted in pain and confusion as they left their homes, woken by the mechanical shrieks that rebounded off the high ceilings and pierced their eardrum. In this confusion Sans panted heavily as he sprinted through the tunnels. It wasn’t long before they left the light and heat of the land that held the labs behind. Sans could swear he could hear the infuriated shouts of Gaster among the cries, even as the sounds faded the further they ran. As they cleared the tunnel, the intense heat was replaced by the heavy scent of water. Bright red light was exchanged for a dim, cool blue that temporarily blinded the little monster. He whined in distress, disorientated at the abrupt change and unable to keep his balance, but unwilling to stop. They were still close to the Labs. They couldn’t afford to stand still now. After Sans trippped over his feet for the third time though, he was forced to admit defeat. He huddled against a wall and waited for his eyes to adjust, praying that they wouldn’t be discovered. 

As he rested, he became aware of all the aches and pains along his body. His legs hurt from all the running and his paws ached with a dull, throbbing heat. Being trapped in the Labs his entire life meant he wasn’t used to prolonged activity. His breathing was ragged and labored, further impeded by the cloth held in his mouth. A high-reedy whine came from below him. Huffing, the skeleton lowered his head and gently set the brown bundle in his mouth down onto the ground. The little pile of blankets shifted about and a white, bony head peeked out. Tiny dark eye sockets stared at their surroundings in wonder. An excited giggle left the teeth of the young monster, who proceeded to try and toddle around and take a closer look at their surroundings. The tiny form was swamped by a plain, white medical gown that threatened to fall off at every step. Sans growled with anxiety. His white eyes darted around them in paranoia and his body was tense. The cacophony of voices from Hotland had tapered off, but their echoes could still be heard every once in awhile. He flinched at every indistinct murmur, terrified that a monster would find them and turn them in. A squeal brought Sans panicked attention to his little brother.Papyrus was leaning over the water’s edge, splashing his hands in the water and giggling at the sensations.

The skeleton was sure he felt his soul break from the fear. A loud growl ripped through his chest and he yanked the toddler away from the edge, ignoring the plaintive whines and high-pitched growls. The child was dropped back into the blankets, which were then bundled around him and picked up in a now canine jaw. The boy took one last look around, before sprinting into the darkness of the waterfalls.

***

Sans knew they were being tracked. It wasn’t surprising. They were Gaster’s projects. The scientist was both obsessive and methodical. He wouldn’t stop until they were back under his thumb. That was something the skeleton had promised would never happen again. He kept them moving for days, only stopping for rest when exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. The land they were in-he’d heard a monster call it Waterfall-was full of, well, water. The numerous paths and pools made it easy to hide. The flat, soft ground left obvious prints though. He kept in the water as often as possible, carrying Papyrus on his back to keep him dry. The toddler was rather unhappy with the arrangement. The harsh, restless pace he set meant that the little skeleton was forced to ride on Sans back, or in his jaws as he struggled to keep ahead of the Royal scientist. Papyrus was restless, squirming or huffing as he was toted from place to place. Sans sighed as hauled himself out of another pool, and looked around anxiously before he pawed at his prints on the bank and tried to smudge out the tracks. The crackle of the nearby foliage sent the skeleton skittering away. He ran through the now familiar darkness. Only the occasional glow of a mushroom or crystal lit his path. It was only when they passed the Temmie village that he relaxed again. Gaster had been closing in on them lately. Even working by himself it was frightening how fast the man had zeroed in on their location. They should be safe here though. Monsters didn’t like being this close to the Temmies.

It was effortless to shift back into his humanoid shape and untie the blanket from his back. Papyrus began squeaking excitedly and wiggling as the makeshift sling came undone. With a heavy thud, the toddler leaped to the ground. Sans chuckled as his brother didn’t even pause at the fall and shifted into a more animalistic form. Still made of bone, the shape was reminiscent of both a dog and a lizard. His head was round and soft. Short legs raced around the small clearing they had discovered. The happy little barks of his brother lifted his spirits. Sans sat down, relaxing as he watched. Before long exhaustion was pulling at his eyes and he began dozing.

With the edge taken off of his energy, Papyrus turned to his older brother, only to see him deep asleep. The little skeleton gave a discontented rumble. Sans was either running or sleeping. It wasn’t fair! Why couldn’t he play with him for once like they had in their room? Resolved to wake up his older brother, he marched up to his brother and gave an annoyed little yip. Sans grumbled and shifted, but didn’t wake. Papyrus growled and smacked his forehead with a tiny bone paw.

“[Wake up Sans!]” Sans just let out a little snore. Disgusted with his brother, the bone monster began exploring the little clearing. If his brother wouldn’t play with him he’d have to find other ways of entertaining himself. Catching sight of something shiny, Papyrus left the clearing, little tail standing straight up in curiosity. Slowly he crept towards the object. His body was tense, getting ready to pounce. With a playful growl, he pounced…

The ear-splitting shriek of his brother in pain woke Sans up with a jolt. The frantic screams had him racing to the toddlers side, shifting forms mid-leap. The sight that greeted him when he got close was one that chilled him down to his marrow. It was a small bear trap, cold and gleaming, and it was currently closed around Papyrus’s leg. At seeing him, Papyrus gave a high-pain filled wail, tears streaming down his face. Sans felt his own tears well up. A distressed whine clawed it’s way out of his throat and he frantically nudged his brother, desperate to soothe him. Clumsy paws scrabbled at the unyielding metal frantically. Papyrus screamed as his actions jostled his arm. Sans shifted back and stroked his brother’s skull.

“Shhh, Pap! I-It’s okay! Y-You’re going to be okay. I’ll get you out of there. Ju-Just hang on.” Papyrus just let out another distressed whine. Sans gave him another soothing pat on the head before he turned his attention back to the trap. Shaking fingers gripped either side of the metal, causing Papyrus to wail again. The young skeleton looked around them frantically, desperately searching for any sign of Gaster. All of Pap’s screaming was bound to give away their position. Desperate to leave as quickly as possible, he dug his fingers into the gaps between the metal teeth and wrenched as hard as he could, heedless of the sharp metal biting into his finger bones . Papyrus screamed again even louder as the metal teeth were dislodged from his bones. He had the sense to pull his leg out once free though, gingerly cradling it close to his chest. Sans wasted no time. The toddler was in his transformed jaws and they quickly left the quiet dark of Waterfall’s flat lands. Gaster must have gotten tired of tracking them down through the maze of Waterfall’s pools. Instead he had calculated where they would rest and…If he was setting traps to catch then it was time for them to move on.

Sans ran as fast as his legs and exhaustion would allow. The fright from earlier had him on edge. The natural shadows of the landscape became dark and menacing. The sound of his own paws echoed in his skull, convincing him the scientist was just behind, racing after them as he ran to the Dump. Reaching the water, Sans didn’t even hesitate jumping in, Papyrus still in his jaws. The bone pup whined at the cold and wet, but mostly stayed silent in his hold. His tiny tail was tucked tightly against his belly and his front leg was still held stiffly. Looking around once more, Sans hid behind one of the trash piles and began carefully digging into the refuse. The junk rattled as it was shifted, some of the larger pieces falling into the water, but the skeleton paid it no mind. He continued to dig until there was a shallow depression in the refuse. Carefully, Papyrus was settled into the hollow. His brother whined pitifully. His little eye sockets were still overflowing with tears as the toddler silently begged his brother to stay. Sans could feel his own tears streaming down his cheekbones. He wanted nothing more than to curl around Papyrus and croon to him, but right now he had to get supplies. They needed to move on, they should have moved on from Waterfall the MINUTE Sans had figured out Gaster had found out where they were hiding. He had been overconfident. Waterfall was so BIG, bigger than anything he had ever seen. He had been so sure that they could lose Gaster among the echo flowers. IDIOT! Now his brother was suffering the consequences. 

“Stay here Pap,” Sans whispered, shifting back into his humanoid shape and carefully arranging the trash around and over the little skeleton monster to hide him.. “I’m going to get us some supplies, then we’re getting OUT.” Out to where, Sans had no idea. Trapped in the Underground as monsters were, there was only so far they could run. Gaster would find them and drag them back to the Labs, never to escape again. That didn’t matter though. They still had to try. He gave his brother one final headpat, and then raced off through the piles of garbage to find any salvagable food and blankets. 

Papyrus whined. He was so scared. His leg hurt and his brother had left him alone. Everything was so much more frightening without his brother. The shadows seemed longer, more menacing. The sound of dripping water hitting metal roofing reminded him of the ‘tap, tap’ of a pen tapping impatiently against a clipboard. The little toddler curled around himself tighter, whimpering as he jostled his leg. He hoped Sans got back soon. He didn’t like this. Being by himself gave him too much time to think about things out of his control. The toddler prefered living in the now. Things were good now, so why worry about what had been or would be? The only problem was those had beens were trying to become their now again. He wasn’t stupid. He knew the White Coated man was the one to set that trap, and the thought that he could find them again made his breath catch in his chest. Every clatter of falling refuse caused him to freeze. The shifting shadows swayed and Papyrus was convinced he could see the outline of legs in the wavering lines of shade. He swore he heard the methodical sloshing of someone wading their way through the water. He hid his head under his paws, unwilling to watch his own capture. He trembled as the sounds stopped in front of his garbage pile. His bones rattled against each other as he heard the monster begin to enthusiastically sift through the items. There was a huge clang, followed by a loud cacophony as the rummaging dislodged the junk and sent the pile collapsing on itself. Papyrus stayed as still as possible as random items clattered around him. A lamp slid down the slopes of trash, bumping against Papyrus’s injured arm and causing him to let out an audible gasp of pain. The rummaging stopped and he stifled a sobbing whimper. This was it. It was all over. The White Coated man had found him. He hoped Sans would come back for him. He didn’t think he could stand those cold rooms by himself.

“Are you ok?” The sound of an unfamiliar voice caused him to look up in surprise. Instead of the man in the White Coat, there was a strange blue skinned monster standing in front of him with wild red hair. Wide yellow eyes looked down at him with as much shock as he felt. There was a brief staring contest as they looked at each other, neither sure what to say. Papyrus let out a nervous.growl. He wasn’t sure of this new monster. What if they took him back to the White Coat? Hearing the weak rumble seemed to snap the girl out of her shock. Her face twisted into one of concern and worry. “What are you doing here?” Her voice was high, but it had a rasp to it, as if her throat was dry. He didn’t answer. He couldn’t reply in this form, not in any language she would understand. His lack of a reply didn’t seem to deter her though. “I’m Undyne, what’s your name?” Gently, she extended a hand out towards him. Papyrus growled again, trying to stand up and intimidate this monster into fleeing. The shooting pain of his leg sent him back down though with a whine. It was useless. There was no way he could retaliate like this. The girls eyes flickered to his cracked radius and ulna, her expression flickering with anger for the barest moment before her face settled into stony determination. Scaly hands darted out and grabbed him around his ribcage. Papyrus yelped in shock and began to growl and bark angrily at the fish. What did she think she was doing?! He had to wait for Sans! Sans would be looking for him! He couldn’t leave! He squirmed in her hold, desperate to get down.

“Stop struggling punk! I’m trying to help!” Papyrus gave her a suspicious glare. He was doubtful about that. Still, she hadn’t tried to hurt him so far. Maybe she was telling the truth? “Listen, I can help you! My Dad’s a doctor. He heals people all the time. He can fix that crack in your arm.” She nodded to his injured leg. Papyrus shook his head. He couldn’t leave here! He had to wait for Sans! Undyne let out a growl herself, baring her yellow, pointed teeth. “Look, whoever left you here, they’re not coming back! Just come with me, I’ll make sure you have a better life.” Papyrus froze for a moment. Sans…wasn’t coming back? No. NO! He wouldn’t believe that! This monster didn’t know his brother! He would be back! He just had to have faith. Reassured, he began struggling even more desperately to get out of her hold. The redhead gnashed her teeth.

“Ngaaaaaaaahhh!!! Alright! That’s enough punk! I’m taking you home whether you like it or not!” Papyrus yowled as he was tucked under an arm and carried away from the Dumps.

“[No! NO!!! Down! Put me DOWN!!! SANS!!!]” He called, but by that time it was too late, they had already left the Dumps behind and were heading deep into Waterfall’s residential district.

***

Sans huffed as he carried a bundle of new blankets filled with food. It had taken a while, but he had wanted to be sure that they’d have plenty of supplies. He didn’t want to be stopping to forage. Gaster was too close already. He wanted to put some distance between them and the Labs. The scientist was incredibly important. He couldn’t afford to be away from his projects for too long. If they got far enough away, the man would have to give up on them simply because it would take too long to find them. The skeleton sighed in relief as he approached the pile he hid his little brother in. 

“Papyrus?” He called. “I’m back Paps. I’ve got food too! It kinda looks like that stuff that old White Coat used to give us, but hey! That means it’s edible!” Silence met his words and Sans frowned. Papyrus was never quiet. He was always letting out some sort of noise, whether it was a whimper, a whine, or even a growl. Apprehension crawled up his spine and he raced over to the little hollow he had made, and promptly dropped the food he had scavenged.

The little hollow he had made was empty. Piles of junk were scattered in and around the spot he had dug out for his little brother as if some sort of scuffle had taken place. Sans felt the marrow of his bones turn to ice. Panicked tears gathered in his eye sockets and an anxious whine clawed its way out of his throat. This couldn’t be happening. Papyrus must have gone exploring, despite his instructions. He must have…he must have-!

“PAPYRUS!!!!” He screamed as he dashed off into the Dump and searched frenziedly for his brother. “[PAPYYYYYRRRRRUUUUUSSSSS!!!!!]” He roared, his body switching between his blaster form and his humanoid due to his extreme emotional state. He searched through every junk pile, screaming and roaring alternatively for his sibling at the top of his lungs. Where was he? WHERE WAS HE?! He can’t have lost him! No! Not his brother! Not the only thing that-! A distraught whimper escaped his throat. He had to find him! He couldn’t let him be taken back by Gaster!

Gaster….

 

Had Gaster taken Papyrus? Sans felt his eye burn at the thought that the scientist had stolen the toddler while he was distracted. Yet even as he yearned to make the man pay, he knew that he’d do anything to get his brother back. Even go back to the Labs without a fuss; and Gaster knew that. Sans continued running from pile to pile in search of the little skeleton. A shimmer in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he raced over in his quadrupedal form. Wavering between two garbage heaps was what looked like…a tear. A hole in space. The air shimmered like a heat haze and when he looked closely, Sans could see a glimmer of something white on the other side. He had never seen anything like it. It wasn’t Papyrus however, and thus was a disappointment. A mournful croon left his jaws and tears fell down his face. He could already feel his freedom slipping away. Exhaustion from the last few weeks sank into his bones and called out for him to simply lay down and wait for the scientist to find him. What did it matter? At least he’d be with his brother again…

No. He couldn’t think like that. He didn’t know if Gaster had the toddler. If he gave up now he’d be trapped in the labs and might never see Papyrus again. That was unacceptable. He had to keep looking. 

“Ah, there you are E2-001-S. I was beginning to think that my ears were playing tricks on me.” Once again, Sans felt his marrow become ice in his bones. Slowly, the boy turned around to face the tall monster. For a moment, it was as if time froze. The two held each other’s gaze, unwilling to look away in case the other tried something. 

“…Gaster.” Sans eventually forced out of his mouth, spitting the name like it was poison. “Come to take me back?” The scientist raised a sardonic, non-existent eyebrow at the question. His lips pulled themselves into a self-indulgent smile.

“I think that would be rather obvious.” the other retorted. “It was very bad of you to escape you know. So many projects have had to be put on hold while I looked for you and your fellow creation.” Sans felt his heart sink. So, Gaster did have his brother. That was….fine. It was fine. They had escaped once, they could do it again. “Come, we are already enough behind.” Part of Sans scoffed at the thought. Gaster was brilliant. He never made the same mistakes twice. Escaping next time would be next to impossible. Reluctantly, Sans fell slowly into step behind the scientist, watching his back intently the entire time, as if he could figure out where the man had hidden his brother. “Collect your fellow creation and let us be off.” Sans brain ground to a halt and he stopped right in his tracks.. He…the scientist….he didn’t have Papyrus? Gaster seemed to sense his lack of movement and turned to give the skeleton child a flat, unimpressed stare. 

“E2-001-S. I will not repeat myself again. Gather your fellow creation and follow me,” Sans remained motionless, eyes darting about in search of a route of escape. His eyes fell on the shimmering tear in space and felt a grin spread across his face. “E2-001-S! I will not tolerate this sort of disobedience. Accompany me now!” Sans turned his head towards the scientist, gleeful, mischievious smile entrenched on his face.

“Sorry Doc, but if you don’t have Papyrus, I ain’t goin anywhere with ya.” 

“E2-!” Gaster began to shout.

“The name is SANS!” He shouted, sprinted behind the two trash piles, and leapt straight into the heart of the tear in space; not paying attention to the enraged scream that echoed behind him. 

It felt like dying. The void inside the tear in reality felt like a living, crushing thing that pressed on him from all sides. It wormed its way past his bones and slithered through his soul. The pain was unbearable. It was everything. It was nothing. It was pain and it was emptiness. Memories that hadn’t happened yet flashed before his eyes as he hurtled through the portal and to the other side. He was In Between and it made him want to scream. Eventually, he made his way to the other end and collapsed in relief and exhaustion. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in there, but it felt like he’d been there for an eternity. His stomach turned and Sans only had a moment to realize what was going to happen before he was bent over and vomiting all over the ground. The skeleton shivered. The air was bitingly cold and caused his vision to spin into a flurry of white. Sans tried to laugh at his own joke, but ended up just letting out a faint chuckle. He was SO tired. 

 

“Hello?” A quiet, husky voice called. “Is anyone there?” Sans tried to scrabble to his feet, to HIDE, but the trip through that cut in space had taken all of his energy. There was a loud clatter as his clumsy movements knocked over a trash can. “Hello?” The voice was coming closer. Sans’s vision filled with oranges and reds even as the edges turned dark. Was it him, or was the air warmer? “Oh my….” The skeleton forced his eyes open one last time to get a look at his captor, and was met with fire. Fire was walking around in a bartender outfit. Right before he passed out, Sans wondered if he was hallucinating. 

“It’s alright little one,” That low, crackling voice whispered, it’s soothing sound lulling him deeper into sleep. “I will take care of you.”

 

End. 

 

Whew! That was a LOT more than i thought it would be! And yet, it still wasn’t enough. I’m going to continue this hopefully. I just wanted to get this first chapter out there.


End file.
